Method

• 1.
  Place pork belly in a large non-reactive dish and scatter rock salt over the skin. Chill overnight.
• 2.
  Brush off salt and discard. Place pork, skin-side up, on a wire rack over a large deep roasting pan. Pour boiling water all over the skin. Discard water. Return pork, skin-side up, to the wire rack set over the roasting pan and chill, uncovered, for 1 hour until pork is cold and dried slightly.
• 3.
  Preheat oven to 240°C. Pick half of the sage leaves from the bunch, place in a mortar and pestle and pound until broken up into a wet paste. Rub sage through 2 tbs salt flakes, discarding any large pieces of sage.
• 4.
  Remove pork and wire rack from roasting pan and place apple halves in pan, cut side down. Add remaining half bunch of sage and top directly with the pork, skin side up. Drizzle with a little olive oil, rub over the skin, then scatter over half the sage salt. Pour stock around the edges of the pan, ensuring the pork skin isn’t submerged (add extra water during cooking if required).
• 5.
  Place in the oven and reduce temperature to 180°C. Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes until the meat is tender. Increase oven to 220°C and roast for a further 15 minutes or until the skin is crisp and deep golden. Remove and set aside for 15 minutes to rest.
• 6.
  Meanwhile, place quince paste and wine in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the paste dissolves. Add red wine vinegar and 3/4 cup (180ml) water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• 7.
  Heat oil in a small frypan over medium- high heat. Fry the extra sage leaves for 10 seconds or until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
• 8.
  To serve, slice pork belly and top with fried sage leaves. Serve with apples, quince sauce and remaining sage salt.